3 less known nursing specialisations to consider as a career

Bee Kee Ng, 24 Mar 2017

Many nursing opportunities beyond the regular call of duty are available in recent years

Following the previous article, we will continue to introduce three more nursing opportunities that you may find insightful as nursing is considered as one of the fastest growing occupations in the US today.

1. Home health care nursing

Going beyond call of duty, nurses have now begun to make home visits to provide care for patients. Maryland resident, Dawn Silverthorn-Cerra, has been a nurse for more than 30 years. She has worked in home health care for the last five years. She sees four to five patients a day and organise the patients’ day accordingly from the day before her visit.

Silverthorn-Cerra said that interpersonal skills and organisation skills are both as important because home health care nurses meet with people of different personalities. They need to be kind, caring and respectful regardless of their patients’ moods or attitudes. Other than being patient and flexible, Silverthorn-Cerra also remarked that excellent physical assessment skills, venepuncture skills and IV therapy skills are necessary.

Across the miles in Malaysia, a service called Love on Wheels has been making regular visits to the patients’ home to help out with the patients’ needs. The founder, Mohan Kumar, said he sees real opportunities ahead while in Prime Minister Najib Razak’s economic transformation programme, he wants more mobile health companies to help bridge the gap.

On the other hand, in Singapore, nursing services are available at just a click of a button on a new website, Jaga-Me. “Jaga” in Malay means “to guard”, and the website founders aim to ease the hospital bed crunch by reducing unnecessary admissions.

2. Certified Registered Nurse Anaesthetist (CRNA)

Nurse anaesthesia is an advanced clinical nursing specialty. As anaesthesia specialists, CRNAs administer approximately 43 million anaesthetics to patients in the US each year.

According to West Virginia Press, CRNAS work with anaesthesiologists to make an individualised plan for every patient. CRNAs listen to each heartbeat and evaluate each breath taken by the patient to remedy any mishaps in the operating room.

CRNAs work in all areas, including obstetrics, paediatrics and cardiac. They administer epidural anesthesia, pain blocks, sedation and general anaesthesia, along with advanced monitoring and central lines. CRNAs are the cornerstone to providing safe and high-quality patient care in all healthcare environments.

Dan Lovinaria who works at the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Health Care System has been a nurse for more than 25 years, practising anaesthesia for more than 15 years, and is also a clinical assistant professor and an associate program director at the University of Minnesota Doctor of Nursing Practice Nurse Anaesthesia Programme.

Her top priority everyday is to provide access to safe anaesthesia care for the veterans who fought for people’s freedom. She said, “I am humbled and honored to hear the Veterans’ stories about their deployments in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Gulf War, to name a few.”

3. Radiology nurse

Rachel Barone, a registered nurse who works in emergency department and at an outpatient radiology centre explains that she works in the computed tomography department but responds to any of radiology departments in an emergency. As a nurse, she starts IV lines, obtains medical histories to present to physicians, and responds to any emergencies. For instance, if a patient getting a CT scan with contrast dye were to have an allergic reaction to the dye, she would respond.

In Singapore, there are new job opportunities for mid-career professionals who are keen to join the health care sector, which include physiotherapist, occupational therapist or radiographer. Senior Minister of State for Health Amy Kho said, “Nursing and allied health offer meaningful and rewarding careers where our professionals can use their talents to make a difference in the lives of patients every day.

“With an ageing population, we need to train and recruit more nurses, therapists and radiographers. Through our Healthcare Professional Conversion Programme, mid-career entrants can gain the requisite training to join the healthcare sector." MIMS

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